Reconciliation
by BlackFire07
Summary: It has been a year since Sylar’s death and the Petrelli family wants to go public with Claire as Nathan’s daughter, which she is. See how, after not having any contact with Peter , they come closer and how their family deals with the new found fact.
1. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

Okay, so starting with the disclaimer:

_Disclaimer:_ _All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

_Also, I shall make it clear that the story has been rated for incestuous themes, language and explicit content in later chapters. _

With that written and over with, enjoy the story and reviews of any sort are always welcome along with the ideas. :-)

Enjoy the story and review people! :P


	2. The News

**A/N: Hey guys! PAIRE this time. One thing that I would like to tell you before you read further is that Claire is the only child of Nathan.**

**With that fact made clear, go ahead and read! AND don't forget to review :P**

**Chapter One**

"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" Claire Bennet called out as she entered her home, closing the door behind her.

"Claire, in the kitchen!" came her mother's voice and she went into the kitchen to find her mother, Sandra, sitting on the kitchen counter by the stove and Noah cooking. She chuckled slightly and Noah turned around.

"What? A man can't cook for his family?" he asked with an amused expression on his face which made Claire chuckle again.

"Well, a man can cook, sure. But you haven't done it in a while. What's cooking anyway?" she asked, putting her bag at the counter and looking into the pots and pans that his father seemed to be playing with.

"Risotto and mushroom ravioli is the menu for tonight with strawberry cheesecake for dessert." He answered, winking at her daughter. He looked up at Sandra and they shared an unknown look which told Claire that there was something going on.

"Okay. What is it?" Claire asked, looking at her mother.

Sandra shook her head "Claire, we-"

"Sandra I believe it can wait until after dinner." Noah interrupted with a crook of an eyebrow and looked at Claire with a small smile. "Why don't you go ahead and freshen up Claire bear. We'll call you and Lyle when dinner's ready." He said and she knew that once he said that whatever it was would have to wait until after dinner then there was no way of whatever was to come before that.

Claire nodded and grabbed her bag, walking to her room upstairs. She threw her bag on her bed and headed for the closet, changed into her pyjamas and splashed her face with water. Returning to her room, she lied down on her back on the bed and let her thoughts drift away to where they did every night.

It had been a year since Sylar had been defeated and the Bennets were finally at peace. Now living a normal life that they had always wanted and craved for and getting used to the fact, they lived with the fact that the people of their kind were safe with their identities hidden and no threat to their lives with Sylar dead.

Claire Bennet, however, was the one enjoying it the most. She had taken a year off from everything and had sat at home with her family. Same was with Noah until he started working in a bank around 5 months ago. Noah and Sandra got back together after Sylar died with Noah making true promises that he never broke. Claire was more happier than she had ever been in her life to see her parents back together again.

Her contact with her biological family had not been so frequent. Nathan would call every now and then but Claire never heard from either Angela or Peter. Heidi on the other hand got to know that Nathan had another daughter before his marriage with her and she took the news unexpectedly calmly. Being the understanding and graceful woman that she was, she welcomed Claire into the family as her step-daughter with open arms.

Though Peter was always there with her through-out the dangerous episodes, she didn't know why but he had broken contact with her ever since Sylar died. She may have seen him twice or thrice after that when he would come to meet Noah for some discussions but never after that. She couldn't help but wonder why he became like this all of a sudden. But she didn't let this fact hinder her time with her family. She never told the Petrelli's or the Bennet's how much she missed Peter and the comforting zone of just knowing that he would be there. That he was there always.

Two months earlier, Claire started working at a super market as a cashier as she couldn't bear the boredom at home. Truth be told, she kinda missed the whole action adventure that she had had to go through, now that she thought about it. One of the reason being that it actually kept her and Peter in contact. Once in a while they would see each other and talk and comfort each other. But that relationship was lost somewhere now.

Every night, she would think about Peter and every night she would end up with tears brimming in her eyes. But she wouldn't let them fall. It had become a routine now. She had always thought that if there was anyone who completely understood her, it was Peter. She was right. But also, she had thought that he would _always_ be there with her, for her. _Apparently I was wrong and what he said was a lie._ Claire thought.

Claire's train of thought was interrupted when someone knocked on the door and Noah entered without an answer. He took in the sight of her crying and couldn't handle it anymore.

Claire looked away and wiped her eyes hastily, sitting up and trying to act normal. "Is the dinner ready?" she asked with a small smile that gave her away. Noah sighed and closed the door behind him, coming over to sit down beside Claire.

"Claire, this has got to stop." He said in a low voice and Claire couldn't comprehend what it was that he meant.

"What dad? I don't understand." She said, her brow furrowed a little as she tried to comprehend what he was talking about.

"This." He caught a tear that escaped her eye on his finger and looked at it emphatically. "You've got to stop hiding what it is that makes you cry every night."

Claire shook her head slowly and wiped her eyes again. "Dad, I don't cry every night. It's –"

"There's no need to lie Claire. Every night I check up on you. Every night I look at your face closely and I see that your face is tear-stained. And it tears me from the inside to see my daughter like this. Not knowing what it is that is reducing her to this every night. Not being able to help." He continued.

"Claire! Noah! Dinner's waiting! I want the both of you down here right now!" Sandra called from downstairs. "God, I'm tired of the father and daughter privacy right before meal."

Claire forced a smile and rubbed Noah's forearm soothingly. "Dad, it's absolutely nothing. Sometimes I just need to unload, we all do." She lied and Noah seemed to buy it for the time being for he smiled and got up, leading Claire downstairs.

Dinner was a quiet business but Claire was aware through-out that Noah was keeping a close watch on her and that Sandra and he were constantly exchanging looks. It all continued into the dessert when finally Claire, unable to take it anymore, drops her fork noisily on her plate. "Okay. You're keeping a watch on me," she accused, looking at Noah and then turned to Sandra, "and the both of you are exchanging looks. What's up? I can't take it anymore, so why don't you two tell me what's going on?"

Sandra sighed and looked at Noah once before turning back to Claire, "We got a call from Angela Petrelli this afternoon." She revealed and Claire automatically stiffened. Sandra looked at Noah once again and back at Claire, "There's a charity gala that the Petrellis want you to attend."

Claire snickered once, bitterly. "Oh so finally they feel safe with me being there with them in public?" she asked, her voice sour.

"We don't know why now Claire, but they want to introduce you as Nathan's daughter to the public." Noah took over, knowing that he'd be able to handle Claire more finely than Sandra.

Claire raised her eyebrows and folded her arms on the table. "And by 'they' you mean Nathan and Angela and Heidi?" she inquired.

Noah nodded once "And peter too." He told her and involuntarily the sound of his name made her body go more rigid. But she ignores it.

"I don't get it. All this while when I needed them to be there with me, especially Peter – and Nathan," She added as an afterthought. "they weren't there. They weren't there when I needed to get to know them and wanted them to know me and now out of the blue they want to go public with the fact that Nathan has another daughter and they expect me to pretend as if I've been living with them for God knows how many months or years?" She spoke quickly yet softly, throwing up her hands in surrender. And then suddenly a question came into her mind and she looked at Noah, "Did she order or did she ask over?"

"As much as I was astonished, she asked over."

Sandra leaned forward and put her hand on top of Claire's in a consoling manner. "Sweety, think it over. There's no hurry. The gala's two weeks later but they want you with them in three days' time." She said and Claire gave her a look to which she added, "That is if you decide to go."

"Now, let's not make a big issue of it and let it get in the way of our family dessert shall we?" Noah interrupted and smiled at Claire.

"You know what? I've just lost my appetite." Claire said, not in an angry way but in a sorrowful way, getting up from her chair and heading up her room. She flopped down on her bed and thought over what her parents had just revealed to her.

She just couldn't figure Nathan out. Time and time again she had tried and everytime she thought she knew him, he would do something that would prove her wrong. Was she ready to pretend that everything was well with her and the rest of the Petrellis? And what about Peter? She had never really seen Peter as her uncle and this would mean accepting publicly that she as the niece of a man whom she had become more close to at a point than any uncle and niece should.

She was brought out of her reverie by a knock at the door. She turned around a little to see Noah enter the room and sat up straight, crossing her legs under her.

"How was the food?" Noah asked randomly, sitting on the edge of the bed, facing her.

Claire nodded slowly, "Delicious." She replied with a small smile, looking at her hands in her lap. After a pregnant pause, she continued hesitantly. "What do you think I should do, dad?" she asked.

"Claire, don't think too hard on this. I know that though you're very happy with us, you still want to be with your biological family. You want to get to know them and reconcile with them now that everything's over."

"I want to dad but what if this is just a publicity political stunt Nathan's pulling. Every time I think I know him or a part of him, I'm proven wrong. I don't think I'll be able to take it anymore if after this I don't get even a taste of what I want." Claire voiced her uncertainties.

Noah smiled slightly, "But what if it's not some 'publicity political' stunt as you put it. What if he really _does_ want to reconcile after all. Angela, Nathan, Heidi – and Peter." He added and once again, Claire looked up at him, stiffened by the declaration of his name. Noah noticed it but let it go.

"I don't know what to do. I guess this time I'm asking you to make a decision for me, deliberately."

"Then I say you should go. Give it a try Claire. How will we know what's in store for us until we really try it out?" Noah said and rubbed her forearm encouragingly.

Claire smiled her sad little smile, "Well then, I guess tomorrow I'll call the Petrellis and tell them that I'm up for it." She stated and shrugged her shoulders once.

Noah smiled, contented. "That's my brave Claire bear." He said and kissed her forehead lightly before asking her to go to sleep, coming back into his fatherly form and exiting the room.


	3. The Call

**Chapter Two**

The next day, Claire woke up to the feel of someone's lips on her forehead and a voice in her ear saying "Oh Claire, wakey wakey." She was still feeling sleepy as she had slept late the night before and turned on her other side telling whoever it was to 'go away'.

"Claire, get your ass outta that bed!" someone shouted and Claire bolted upright as the next she knew was that someone was bouncing up and down her bed.

"Lyle!" she bellowed angrily, throwing her quilt off of her and getting out of the bed.

"Uh oh." Lyle said and made a run for it. Claire ran out of the room and down the stairs into the kitchen after Lyle, who was hiding behind his mother.

"Lyle, get over here right now. Mom move outta the way." Claire ordered.

Sandra put her hands up as Lyle held on tighter to her, "Would someone care to explain what happened? What did he do Claire?" she asked, giving a side-ways look to Claire.

"He shouted in my ear and bounced up and down my bed to wake me up." Claire explained, folding her arms and sending a death glare at Lyle. If only looks could kill, Lyle would have been dead by now.

Sandra couldn't help but laugh at this. Claire unfolded her arms and looked at her mother incredulously. "Fine! I'm gonna go get changed!" Claire announced and left the kitchen.

"Morning, Claire bear." Her dad greeted her enthusiastically and she looked at him and gave a heated greeting back at him. Noah looked at her back dubiously and headed to the kitchen.

"What got Claire's wand in a knot?" he asked as he leaned in to give Sandra a good morning peck on the cheek.

"Oh nothing. Just Lyle and Claire at it again." She answered, dismissing the topic with a wave of her hand.

Claire descended the stairs for breakfast and sat down. Lyle poked her tongue at her and she merely rolled her eyes at him. Half-way through the breakfast, the topic of yesterday, and today, was again brought up.

"So Claire," started Sandra slowly, causing Claire to look up at her mother, "will you be going for the gala?" she asked.

Claire looked at Noah who gave her an encouraging smile. "I will be. In fact I'll just call up the Petrellis and tell them so." She said with a small smile.

And that was that. After this, a general discussion about work followed. Truth be told, Claire felt a little excited about this trip to her biological family, so to speak. She was looking forward to seeing Heidi and Nathan and Angela. Most of all Peter. Although she was angry with him, more than she had ever been, but she was looking forward to seeing him. She knew that their meetings were bound to be uncomfortable and, on her part, angry but at least she would have _some_ contact with him. At least she would be able to _see _him.

After breakfast, Claire went up to her room and dialled the number to the Petrelli Mansion. The phone kept ringing and ringing and no one picked up.

"Hello?" came an acutely familiar voice which caused Claire's heart to skip a beat, just as she was about to hang up. She half-way thought of hanging up now that she knew who had picked up the phone but couldn't resist talking.

She collected herself, "May I speak to Nathan or Angela Petrelli please?" trying her hardest to be keep her voice from cracking and her emotions under control and pretending that she only meant business.

"Claire." Peter said more than asked. The fact that he remembered her voice, remembered how she sounded drove Claire almost over the edge but she remained composed. She had to, there was no other choice. There was a heavy, hesitant pause before Peter spoke up again. "How – how are you?" he asked quietly.

"I'm fine. Now may I please speak to either Angela or Nathan?" she asked frostily .

Another pause after which came, "Yeah. Hang on." He told her and probably went off to call someone. The next voice she heard was of Angela.

"Good morning, Claire. How are you?" she asked and she Claire could imagine her face.

"I'm good Angela. I called to let you know that I'd be more than delighted to attend the charity gala." She revealed.

"Are you sure, Claire? It's a big step for you to be publicised as a president's daughter."

Claire sighed, "I am. I am. It's now or never, right? Plus, this is what all of you want." She answered.

"But Claire, is this what _you_ want?" Angela asked. Claire was taken aback by the amount of care that Angela was showing.

"I guess." Claire responded with a shrug.

"Alright then. I shall be sending Peter over to come and collect you." Angela's voice hinted that she was smiling. But this declaration alarmed Claire.

"No," she said a little too quickly, "I'll board a plane, thank you." Claire rejected the suggestion politely.

"Your wish. By the way," she added, "Peter offered to pick you up himself."

Okay. And now it was official that the whole Petrelli clan was unpredictable. As unpredictable as the weather. Claire closed her eyes and breathed out. "Tell him I said 'thank you for being so thoughtful'. But I'd like to get there on my own." She spoke.

"Very well then. When shall we be expecting you?"

"Two days from today. That makes it Wednesday." Claire answered, biting her lip.

"Okay. You should get on with packing young lady and I should go and give the good news to Nathan. Take care of yourself."

"Bye." Claire bid and disconnected the phone. She sighed as she closed her eyes, and strengthened her hold on the cordless phone. Thoughts ran through her mind like a plane taking off and tears brimmed in her eyes. She had felt a little light when she heard Peter's voice. _Atleast he remembers._ She thought and the tears fell from her eyes. What was it that took him away from her, so far that everything that was left unspoken was the only thing that filled the gap, expanding it as days passed by.

But sometimes, fate interferes. It changes everything that you always hope and fight for. Fate is dangerous to experience but the most safest thing to blame everything on. And that fate was to help the both of them.

**A/N: Come on people! Show some love for PAIRE ... Review ....**

**Chapter Three Preview:**

Claire knocked on the mahogany door before turning the knob and opening it. Nathan looked up from the papers he was studying and got up from his chair the instant he caught sight of Claire. He walked over to her and hugged her tightly to him.

Legitimacy had it that Claire felt that, for the first time, she was home. She could see the love pouring out of her father's eyes for her and when he hugged her, it was as if she was hugging Noah. As if they had never been separated in her childhood, as if she had always lived with Nathan.


	4. Petrelli's

**A/N: Okay, so I'll start with thanking everyone who reviewed and added my story to their fav/alert lists. A big thank you to Commen Sense for beta reading and approving this :) **

**Thirdly, I shall take time in thanking 'Crytical eye' for taking out time and pointing things out for me. I'm sorry I have to answer to a review here as it was an anonymous one.**

**I shall be answering to your complaints. The characters were originally planned to be OOC. Mostly, this story isn't my version of Heroes, it's merely my story line with just a gist of original plot and pairings basically and has nothing more to do with it so the characters going OOC is justified. As for the dialogues and shorter syllables, I shall keep that in mind. And yes I am aware of the fact that Heidi walked out on Nathan when he became an alcoholic after peter's assumed explosion, but they get back together in my story, as mentioned and how ... it'll be explained in the sixth chapter. The relationship between Nathan/Claire and Angela/Claire hasn't really died down as you shall see later on, but with peter it kinda has fluctuated. It will be pointed out in the later chapters as to why. Why Claire is so cold to peter is the fact that he was her **_**hero**_** and the only one who really truly understood her, imagine someone like that breaking contact with you for over a year and after that you meet. It's bound to be a little harsh since they weren't there and you don't know the reason of the discontinuation of contact. As said before, I'm not using the original tv show timeline so Nathan isn't president yet.**

**I am in no way wounded by your criticism, infact I really liked the fact that you did so. But I just had to clear these things up, you know ... I plan on taking stories a **_**little**_** slower when there're intimate connections involved. Hence, everything will be explained but after a little while. It's just been two chapters. So, I'd say be a little patient :) **

**Chapter Three**

Claire sat at the breakfast table on Wednesday morning with the Bennets. It wasn't as uncomfortable as she thought it would be. She guessed that maybe she would start feeling hesitant once she got on the airplane.

Once done with the breakfast, she packed her last minute stuff and zipped her bag, making her way down the stairs and towards the entrance door.

"Take care, Claire. And if anything goes wrong, just give us a tinkle." Sandra said and bid her daughter good-bye. Lyle was nice today too. He bid her a normal good-bye though he remarked on the fact that he wouldn't have anyone to tease for some days.

Noah loaded her suitcase in the trunk of his car and drove her to the airport as they sat silent.

"Let's hope it all goes well." Claire voiced her thought.

Noah cast a glimpse at her and then back at the road. He put his hand on top of Claire's, a warm gesture of reassurance by a father. "It will, Claire. Why are you being so cynical?" he asked.

Claire shrugged, "I mean look at it. Nathan never thought of going public with me as his daughter before. Neither did Angela. I wonder whose idea it was hers or Nathan's." She paused, "Plus I may have kept good enough contact with the other two ... I haven't spoken to Peter since over eleven months." She said, the difference of her voice being sadder evident now. "May be even more."

Noah raised his eyebrows, "So that's what's bothering you." Noah said with amusement.

"Dad, I don't know. Turns out my biological family is expert in breaking promises." Claire said sarcastically and looked out of the window, biting her thumb nail. Noah looked at her once again and decided to let the topic go. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable or hesitant with him because he knew and was sure that she would have to go through a lot of that once she got to the Petrellis.

They arrived at the airport and Noah unloaded her suitcase and placing it beside Claire. "Take care, Claire bear. You know what to do when you wanna come back home. But my advice would be to not give up and keep endeavouring this opportunity you've got to come close to your biological family." Noah said to her as he hugged her to him before letting go.

Claire smiled at her father, thanking whatever higher authority was their watching above all of them to give her a life-long gift and angel in the shape of her father. "I will dad. Take care of yourself and mom too. Don't worry yourself about me. I'll be fine. After all I'm going to my second home." She said, "I guess." She added.

They bid good-bye and she walked on inside, towards the boarding lounge, turning around once and waving at her father, who stood there waving back with a thousand thoughts of million possibilities running through his head. One of which he hoped wouldn't be true. And if it was, then there was no other way than which he knew of.

The wheels of the plane touched the ground, emitting a screech because of the friction, as it landed. When it came to a stop, Claire took a deep breath and got off of it into the luggage lounge. She got her suitcase in no more than just two minutes. She sighed and made her way towards the exit, in the hall where everyone was there to receive someone.

When she walked a little forward, a chauffeur came up to her.

"Miss Bennet, I have been sent by Mrs. Petrelli to receive you. Welcome to New York." He said kindly, smiling all the while.

Claire smiled at him, "Thank you," she said as the chauffeur took her bag and led her to the limo waiting for her. Inside, she was disappointed to find that it was empty. The fact that she was to ride in it alone wasn't as thwarting as the fact that not even one member of the family had come to receive her.

After a twenty minutes drive, they arrived at the Petrelli's. Her bag was unloaded and taken into the house before she could step out the car.

She walked inside, taking a deep breath and bracing herself for what was to come. She saw Angela standing there, alone, beside the staircase, smiling. She walked forward as Claire approached her and Angela pulled her into a warm and comfortable embrace.

"Seems like years since I saw you. You've grown up a lot in just a year." She complimented, examining her. "And become more beautiful too." She further said, stroking her cheeks with her thumbs.

"You look as young as ever yourself, Angela." Claire said with an amused smile. She said and Angela moved her hand in the air as if dismissing the compliment.

Claire averted her eyes from her and looked around. And looking around she was but for only one person. Peter. "Peter's out for work." Angela smirked.

Claire closed her eyes irritably for a second. "I was looking for Dad." She defended herself though Angela knew very well that she was lying through her teeth.

"Well, then help yourself to his study. You know where to go." She directed with a smile and watched her back as she walked off in the direction of Nathan's study, thinking all the while that even though the dangers were long buried in her life, a blissful calamity was still to strike this girl. All the while wondering if she would be brave enough to handle what was to knock on the small door of her spacious heart.

Claire knocked on the mahogany door before turning the knob and opening it. Nathan looked up from the papers he was studying and got up from his chair the instant he caught sight of Claire. He walked over to her and hugged her tightly to him.

Legitimacy had it that Claire felt that, for the first time, she was home. She could see the love pouring out of her father's eyes for her and when he hugged her, it was as if she was hugging Noah. As if they had never been separated in her childhood, as if she had always lived with Nathan.

He let go and kissed her forehead.

"How are you, Claire?" he asked, leading her inside and sitting her on the sofa kept there.

"I'm as fine as I can ever be, Dad. You tell me about you." Claire asked as he held both of her hands in his.

Nathan sighed, "Well, with all this senator bullshit goin' on. Not so good. But to have my daughter back, never been better than this." He finished with a smile. Claire smiled back. "I have so much to catch up on with you. So much to say to you, but first," he said as he stood up, Claire following his actions, "you should head to your room, freshen up and then have lunch with the family. Peter should be home by then." Nathan finished.

Claire nodded and noticed how everyone mentioned 'Peter' but not 'Heidi'. "Where's Heidi?" she asked as the both of them made their way out of the study and into the living room.

"She's gone to the salon, you know, all the feminine stuff." Nathan replied with a short laugh.

Claire grinned shortly and nodded before turning and heading up to the stairs, "Oh Claire," Nathan called just as she reached the middle of the staircase. "I missed you." He said, and once again Claire felt that she had found her long-lost father and saw the reassurance in his eyes that he would make it up to his mistakes.

"Missed you too, Dad. More than you missed me." Claire responded back before Nathan gave her a smile and she headed into her room.

Unpacking her suitcase, she decided on wearing a simple cap-sleeved t-shirt and a Denim jeans. She took those clothes and made her way into the bathroom, the last room down the corridor. She splashed her face with water, getting rid of her lightly done make-up and changed her clothes, tying her hair up in a pony-tail before putting a light gloss to her lips.

She gathered her laundry and made her way downstairs to the laundry room, a small room located right after the kitchen. She walked in and discarded her clothes into the bag before turning around and coming face to face with Heidi.

"Heidi!" Claire called out as she walked up to her and hugged her, "it is so very good to see you!" she finished as she let her go.

Heidi stroked her hair, "It's equally good to see you. Wow. Look at you," she continued softly as she held both her hands in hers, "you've grown into a woman. Poised and beautiful one that is." She accolade and Claire gave her a warm smile. "I can see you're taking your looks after your mother." She said further and Claire couldn't help but concede the fact that Heidi was one graceful and comprehending woman, brave enough to treat someone else's daughter as her own, that someone else being a careless affair of her husband.

"Thanks Heidi. I missed you the most you know." She said and Heidi tapped her nose once with her finger. "So got everything done from the salon? Pampering yourself much?" She teased as she they turned around and made their way into the living.

Heidi chuckled and shrugged, "Have to sweety, can't let myself age because of your father." She joked back. "I'm starving, are you?" She asked randomly.

"Mhmm ... the food in the airline sucked." She confessed, scrunching her face, showing her distaste.

Heidi laughed and shook her head, "Well, then dinner's ready." She told her as they entered the dining room.

But what was to follow through lunch wasn't really unexpected on Claire's part, just a little too early to face.

**Chapter Four Preview:**

There was a soft click as the front door opened and closed and Claire involuntarily stiffened, clearing her throat uncomfortably and reached for the glass of water kept in front of her, actions that went unnoticed by everyone on the table except Angela, who smiled softly all the while.

Faint thuds of footsteps became clearer as Claire's heart started beating faster with every sound of those footsteps becoming clearer, followed by Heidi's voice.


End file.
